A Quiet Dance
by Kalira69
Summary: Hinata is surprised when he actually approaches her, but she could never turn her Neji-nii-san down for anything.


Written for a Mousie who requested _slow dancing_ from a Sweet Affectionate Moments meme.

I honestly have no idea whose wedding they're attending.

* * *

Ino's eyes widened, her gaze darting up and past Hinata's shoulder. She stiffened with nerves, tentatively looking behind herself to see what had caught her friend's attention.

"Neji-nii-san!" Hinata said, startled.

It wasn't a surprise that Neji had managed to approach their table without her noticing - only that he had even wanted to approach her in the first place.

Neji bowed, precise and graceful, and Hinata straightened as much as she could in her seat. "Hinata-sama." He held out an open hand to her. "May I ask you for a dance?"

Hinata blinked quickly, blushing. "I- I- Yes, of course." she accepted, timidly putting her hand in his before Ino's little half-stifled reaction reached her ears.

Neji's expression warmed slightly as he tugged Hinata gently to her feet, and she relaxed, her smile steadying. The shift might not have been visible to everyone, but she knew Neji well.

"Thank you." Neji said politely, his voice low, and led her onto the dance floor, weaving fluidly between the other dancers - not all of whom were nearly so graceful, even if most of the guests were ninja. She wondered if it was the alcohol or just the excitement of the wedding that had them so uncharacteristically clumsy and noisy.

Hinata turned in Neji's hold, blushing a little more as his arms closed around her. Neji gave her a soft, reassuring smile and splayed one hand on her lower back, pulling her half a step closer to his body.

Hinata stifled a squeak. Neji clearly heard her anyway, though it was only given away by a brief quirk at the corners of his lips and tiny crinkles around his eyes.

He didn't say anything, just moved into the first steps of the dance, guiding her along with him effortlessly. They had never danced together before - by the time their lessons would have included _this_ , the idea of it would have been . . . problematic - but they were both well-versed in all of the necessary higher arts. They moved together as though they had been dancing as a pair for years.

Hinata moved a little closer without thinking, and Neji shifted. Her step hitched, but she realised an instant later that he was only offering his shoulder to her. Hinata smiled and tentatively rested against it, closing the space between them.

Neji wrapped his arm a little more closely around her waist, keeping her there, and brought their outstretched hands nearer as well, twining their fingers. Hinata sighed contentedly, feeling the thrum of Neji's powerful chakra through his body and the excited fizz of her own in response. Hinata knew Neji could feel hers as well, holding her so close.

She ducked her chin, though Neji could not see her face from this angle, and hid a smile against his shoulder. She did not mind if Neji knew that dancing in his arms made her giddy and happy; she was glad if he did, in fact. And this was not like _saying_ so - it was allowing him to _know_ , but not asking anything of him. Quiet.

When the third song ended, Neji stepped back and Hinata began to follow, then caught herself, politely disengaging instead and backing away from Neji, though not without a soft sigh of regret.

Neji gave her a tiny, warm smile and bowed, brushing a kiss to her fingers. "Thank you for the dance, Hinata-sama." he murmured in his velvety-soft voice.

"Thank you, Neji-nii-san." Hinata replied, squeezing his hand lightly. "I enjoyed it very much."

"As did I." Neji said simply, inclining his head, eyes meeting hers, not quite a promise. There was a pulse of chakra - soft, not an attack - from his palm to hers, and then the slide of callused skin against callused skin as he drew his hand away, turning to leave her behind. Her hand tingled.

Hinata's smile lingered as she threaded her way off the dance floor, almost floating back to her seat near Ino, unable to keep the warm blush from her cheeks or the happy expression from her face.

* * *

I wrote this with romantic intentions for them, but Hinata and Neji are both so quiet-natured in some ways that especially their pre-relationship stage. . .


End file.
